The Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) produces more matter in its lifetime than any other plant: more than 100 tonnes. On average, every palm tree produces 75 kg of dates annually (in oases, this average decreases to 25 kg). With an average longevity of 400 years, each tree is capable of producing a total of 30 tonnes of dates. However, palm trees that are cut regularly can produce up to 90 kg per year, or in other words, around 36 tonnes in their lifetime. If the foliar crown and trunk are added to this, a tree’s production can reach 100 tonnes. Furthermore, incisions made in the crown of a tree between December and March can yield from 500 to 1000 litres of sap annually for a period of 30-40 years. This liquid, which is called lagmi or laghi in the Maghreb, ferments in just a few hours and makes a refreshing, alcoholic drink.
The Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is probably the oldest cultivated plant.
The Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is the fruit species with the highest tolerance levels of ground and water salinity.
The fruit of the Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is the one with the most names: there are thousands.
The Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is the plant with the most named varieties: there are thousands.
The Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is the plant which holds the most records in the whole plant kingdom.
The African Palm Raphia regalis has the largest leaves, growing to a length of 25 metres with a breadth of 4.90 metres.
TThe Corypha umbraculifera, which is found in India, has the widest leaves. Its palm fans can measure up to five metres in diameter.
The largest flower, is the Corpse Flower, Titan Arum or Mr. Stinky (Amorphophallus Titanum). It grows around 10 cm per day until it reaches an average of 2.50 m in height, approximately 1 m in diameter and 75 kg in weight. After this, the flower only lives for three days.
The largest known fruit is produced by the Coco de Mer, or Sea Coconut, (Lodoicea maldivica), a palm which originates from the Maldives and the Seychelles. Its double coconuts can measure up to 40 centimetres in width and one metre in perimeter, and can weigh up to 30 kilos. The ripening period of the fruit is twelve years.
The largest trunk belongs to the Malaisian climbing palm Calamus rotang (Rattan palm) which, with a diameter of 20 to 30 millimetres, can reach up to two hundred metres in length.
Of these thousands of names, however, only around 100 are known away from the area of cultivation, and only a few dozen are employed in the international trade market.
The Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is the plant with more attributes and symbols: more than two hundred.
The leaves of the African Palm Raphia regalis are longer than those of any other plant: twenty-five metres.
The African Palm Raphia regalis has the heaviest leaves: 100 kg.
The Corypha umbraculifera has the largest branched inflorescence in the plant kingdom: it can reach nine metres in height and three in width with more than 24 million flowers. Similar to plants of the agave genus, flowering takes place on the apical buds (after 50 years) and once the fruits appear, the palm dies.
The Elaeis guinensis, or Oil Palm, produces the largest infrutescences of the world (25 kg and 4000 fruits).
The largest seed in the world also comes from the Coco de Mer (Lodoicea maldivica).
The tallest known trees, the Eucalyptus regnans of Australia, grow to 150 metres.
Among the monocotyledonous plants (lacking cambium or whose trunks do not have annual growth rings), the Borassus and Jubaea chilensis share the record for the largest trunk (over 2 metres diameter and over 6 metres circumference).
The most cultivated trees in the world are the Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera), the Oil Palm (Elaeis guinensis) and the Date Palm ( Phoenix dactylifera).
The plant with the most uses (more than 5000 in Sri Lanka) is Borassus flabellifer, which is also known as the Black Palm, the Sugar Palm, Toddy or Wine Palm.
The palm is the plant that has most inspired the poets.
Palms are the plants which hold the most records in the whole plant kingdom.
The national tree of Colombia (Law 61 of 16 September, 1985, Art. 1), the Quindio Wax Palm (Ceroxylon quindiuense) can grow up to 80 metres high. It is actually a giant grass, which makes it the tallest non-branching plant in the world. Some trees, such as the Sequoias, do exceed 100 metres, but these are woody, branching plants.
Palms are the plants which hold the most records in the whole plant kingdom.
The national tree of Colombia (Law 61 of 16 September, 1985, Art. 1), the Quindio Wax Palm (Ceroxylon quindiuense) can grow up to 80 metres high. It is actually a giant grass, which makes it the tallest non-branching plant in the world. Some trees, such as the Sequoias, do exceed 100 metres, but these are woody, branching plants.
Moreover, the Quindio Wax Palm (Ceroxylon quindiuense) holds the altitude record for monocotyledons as they are often found growing at over 3,500 metres above sea level.
The American palm Phytelephas macrocarpa has the hardest seed in the world. Its albumen is the vegetable ivory.
This is the family with the widest range of habitats. The only family capable of growing in regions varying from the very humid equatorial rain forests to absolute deserts, from the mangrove swamps of the tropical coasts to areas of almost permanent snow.
The Tamil poem Tala Vilasam (The Glory of the Palm Tree) by Arunachalam lists 801 uses. The poem can be found in various books, such as DE MICHELI, F. and DE SANTIS, F. Palma Palmae. Pendragon. Bologna, 2001. pp. 189-203.
The sumptuous Royal Palms (Roystonea elata and Roystonea oleracea), which originated in the Antilles, are some 30 metres high and form some of the most beautiful lines of trees in the Tropics. This is, of course, a record concerning elegance, and is thus subjective.
